Story Starters! Naruto Ver!
by Metronome I Hear
Summary: I have a lot of Ideas but not a lot of patience. So I will post those ideas here in the hopes that someone will see them and write them out for me!
1. Introduction

So I have a lot of ideas for Naruto fanfiction and Naruto crossovers but I don't always have the patience to sit down and write them from beginning to end. And thus, I will be posting ideas here. If you want to take one, go ahead! Take the starter and write away! Just PM me so that I know that you're using it and so I can read the wonderful works that the people of this site write.


	2. Nurarihyon and Naruto

Naruto ran as fast as he could. He didn't dare look back, knowing that that would do nothing other than slow him down and show him what awaited him if he didn't manage to get away. So he ran. He ran and ignored the angry shouts of the villagers, screaming at him for something that he didn't understand. What did he do? Why did they always chase him and yell at him? Why did they look at him with those hateful eyes?

He was scared. He was terrified beyond belief. He couldn't afford to stop. If he stopped… He didn't want to think about it.

"Kill the demon!"

"Finish what the Yondaime started!"

What where they saying? He wasn't a demon! And yet they always did this. On his birthday they always chased him on till an ANBU interfered, he made it to his apartment, or he found the old man.

The scenery around him flashed by as he ran, weaving his way through the streets and the stalls. He turned a corner and kept running forward, hoping that he would lose them this turn, but still they chased after him, yelling and screaming and waving around weapons.

He wished that it would stop. He wished that he wouldn't have to be chased anymore, that he could go somewhere where he wouldn't be regarded with scorn and hatred.

He turned another corner and didn't notice the change in scenery around him. Things grew dark, darker than they were mere moments before. What he did notice was the quiet. The shouts from the villagers disappeared, and so he stopped and looked around, eyes widening when he saw where he was.

The hallway was in looked a bit like one of those buildings in the older district of town, something like the Hyuuga building that people always chased him away from. The floor was tatami mats and the walls had some sort of symbol on them, a kanji. He didn't recognize it though, as no one had bothered to teach him to read.

Naruto stiffened when he heard footsteps and looked around for somewhere to hide, but the hallway he was in had nothing but tatami mats and sliding doors. One of the doors opened and Naruto looked up to see who had come through. The person standing there wasn't like anyone he had seen before.

The man was tall and looked to be somewhere in his 20s. His hair was long and seemed to defy gravity. The top was pure white and the bottom was an inky black. His eyes were a bright crimson that seemed redder than even the famed Sharingan that Naruto had heard one of the villagers talk about. The man was wearing a black kimono with a royal blue haori. At his hip was a katana.

The man blinked when he noticed Naruto standing there in the hallway then tilted his head a bit to one side.

"A human child?" He murmured to himself.

Naruto took a step back, then another, then started to run in the opposite direction but all too soon he felt a hand on his shoulder that held him back, "Uh oh! Don't go running off just yet. Can't have you running into someone who would take your presence the wrong way, ne? Tell me, child, what's your name?"

Naruto watched the man for a moment then said, "Uzumaki Naruto."

"Uzumaki Naruto?" The man smiled kindly at him then said, "My name is Nura Rikuo. Tell me, how did you get here? Humans usually can't get to this place."

Naruto swallowed nervously, "I was running and I turned a corner and ended up here."

The man, Nura, regarded Naruto for a moment longer, "You turned a corner, hm? Interesting…. Why were you running?"

"The villagers were chasing me. They always do today but I don't know why…"

"Chasing you?" He frowned, "Odd…" Then the man seemed to notice something and held a confused look on his face. He crouched down before Naruto so that he could see eye to eye with Naruto.

"Naruto? Could you close your eyes for me, please?"

Naruto looked at the man oddly, "Close my eyes? If you say so…." Naruto closed his eyes.

_..._

_Drip…._

_…._

_Drip…._

"You can open them again."

Naruto opened his eyes then looked around him in shock. He wasn't in the hallways anymore, instead he was in a sewer like place. The man looked around and frowned. He started walking in one direction and Naruto followed him, wondering where he was.

Then Naruto suddenly felt scared. A wave of fear washed over him and he looked up at the cage he now stood before. He couldn't see inside, as the place was shrouded in shadow. Then he saw a pair of eyes. They glowed red in a manner similar to Nura's, but they were filled with malice.

"Hello there Kurama."

A giant orange paw shot out of the cage and stopped an inch short of Nura's face. A menacing growl filled the air that made Naruto fall backwards, bit Nura seemed unaffected. In fact, he smirked up at the red eyes.

"How have the years been treating you? It's been what? 80 years? 90? No, it's been nearly a century hasn't it?"

**"Shut up! Do you think I want to be like this?! That damn human sealed me in here!"**

"Yes, but who was it that said that they didn't have to be in the shadow realm and wanted to go out and explore the human realm? You. That's who. You and the other tailed beasts."

"T-tailed b-beasts?" Naruto stammered.

Nura looked over at him, as if noticing him for the first time. "Yes. Tailed beasts." He said after a moment.

The shadows of the cage withdrew a bit to reveal a huge fox with nine tails waving lazily behind it, **"Stupid brat. What did you think I was? A kitten?"**

"Now, now. Be nice. This is his mind you're residing in. You should be nice before he decides to make your stay even worse." Nura chided the demon.

**"Nice? You want me to be nice? No! Now get me out of here, Nura!"**

The man tilted his head a bit to one side and looked like he was contemplating something, "Hmmm…. Maybe… "

**"Oi! Nurarihyon! Don't just stand there!"**

Nura smiled, "Don't worry! I'll get you out of here! Eventually…. If I feel like it…."

**"Oi!"**

Nura suddenly turned around and started to leave, "Well, later Kurama! You coming kid?"

Naruto blinked, then ran after the man, ignoring the outraged shouts coming from behind them. Then, all of a sudden, they were back in the hallway. Nura stood up and stretched, then looked down at Naruto and smirked, "Hey, kid. Want me to take you home?"

Naruto was quiet for a moment, still trying to get over his shock about what happened, and responded instead with his own question, "Nura-san. What just happened?"

"Hm? Oh, you mean with Kurama? The place we were just now was your mindscape and Kurama is the kyuubi."

"But… How is the kyuubi in my head?"

"That's because he's sealed in you."

Naruto looked distressed, "But then… Why would the Kyuubi be sealed in me?"

Nura paused a moment then tilted his head to one side, "I actually don't know. I guess we'd have to ask whoever sealed him… Say, who's the head of the village you live in?"

"The Hokage of course!"

"Hokage?" Nura raised an eyebrow, "That's one I haven't heard before…. Mind taking me to him? I bet he can tell you why Kurama is sealed in you."

Naruto nodded, "Sure! He's usually at Hokage tower! I go there all the time!"

"Hokage Tower, eh? Hm… Alright kid, let's get going!" Nura smiled at Naruto and grabbed one of his hands. He took a step forward and shadows rushed to meet them. The next thing Naruto knew was nothing.


	3. Izuna Reborn

A man with short black hair lied in bed, dressed all in white. He had bandages wrapped around his midsection, and a cloth covering his eyes. Next to him, gripping the man's hand, was his brother. This man had long spiky black hair that fell to his waist and black eyes.

The candles that kept the room light flickered as the elder of the two gripped the younger's hand tighter.

"You can't." He near sobbed, his usually stoic mask breaking in the face of his brother's death.

The younger brother smiled up at the elder of the two and reached up with his free hand to brush a strange of black hair away from his brother's eyes, "I'm sorry Madara-nii. But I'm afraid this is the end for me. You have to stay strong, okay?"

Madara caught his brother's hand and frowned, "Izuna. Please…"

Izuna shook his head from where he lay and kept smiling, "I'm afraid not. After I die… Don't forget me? Please?"

"I'd never forget you, little brother. Never." Madara assured.

Izuna smiled, "Thank you nii-san... I… I love you. Don't forget that, alright?"

"I know, Izuna. I love you too."

Izuna didn't respond. When he didn't Madara frowned, "Izuna?"

Again, no response. Madara, panicking a little inside, shook Izuna's shoulder, calling out his brother's name. When he still got no response he checked the man's pulse, only to find none. Madara froze, then collapsed over his brother's dead body, crying out in pain and grief.

….

Izuna opened his eyes, and was immediately confused. He didn't have eyes, he had given them to his brother. Brother…. Where was Madara?

He took a look at his surroundings, everything was blurry. Where was he? Who… Who was this blonde man with blue eyes? And a redheaded woman? Why was everything so much bigger?

He heard cries and congratulations, then suddenly another blurry figure appeared. Panic ensued and in the brief exchange between the two men he didn't hear much.

"Uchiha Madara."

Madara?! What Nii-san here? Whats going on?! He felt so tiered. Then the blurry black figure was holding him and he caught a sight of red eyes. Was it Nii-san?

Izuna struggled and tried to reach up to the man only he be taken away from the red-eyes man by the blonde man. Then his surroundings shifted again. He was in another brightly light area. Now where was he?

Izuna was confused. He remembered being with his brother, sharing what he thought to be his last words, and now he was here? He remembered a darkness after he told his brother that he loved him. Then there was pain. And then light and the next thing he knew was the blonde man and the woman with red hair. He didn't understand what was going on. And why was everything so blurry?

He had so many questions, and yet no one to answer him. He felt his consciousness slipping away and forced himself to stay awake. He needed answers.

The blonde man came back and his surroundings changed again. The chakra in the air was insane. What was that massive orange blob? He still couldn't tell. His vision seemed to be working against him. It was Ironic, usually he had among the best vision but not now…

Then there were candles and something went through the man and the woman. They smiled at him and started speaking. Naruto? Why were they calling him Naruto?

Then he felt like he was on fire.

His stomach burned and the orange thing disappeared. The man and the woman dropped to the ground and he couldn't sense the chakra that was there just moments ago. More figures approached him. He heard bits and pieces of what they were saying. Kyuubi? Was that what the orange thing was? Konoha? What was Konoha? He was so confused, but he resolved that he would figure out where he was and that he would find Nii-san again.


	4. Memories

He didn't know how long he had been wandering. The air around him was quiet, silent as it usually was. The ground around him was as desolate as ever the only color being the odd staticy orbs that played the memories of those fallen. He wandered through the field, just as he always had. He had long since stopped wondering how long he had been there or how long he would be there. He just wandered and watched. He watched as war played out time and time again. He watched comrade after comrade fell to save another. He listened as people told their stories and remembered those that had left them behind. He watched and watched and watched and waited.

He didn't really care for his appearance anymore. He knew that he once had short blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He knew that he used to wear bright orange and black, but he couldn't really bring himself to care anymore. He knew that by now his hair was long enough that it dragged on the floor. He knew that it was white, as white as the snow he sometimes saw in the memories of those that passed through here. He knew his skin was the same color, and that his eyes had even less color than the Hyuuga's. He knew that his wardrobe wasn't any more colorful than his skin tone or his hair.

It mattered little to him, in these times. Because in these times, there was nothing to care about.

Still, he waited and he watched. He waited and he watched. Day after day after day, he wandered through that blank space filled with staticy screens playing memories of the dead.

Then he pause, feeling for the first time in a timeless while _wind_ blowing across his skin. He closed his eyes and relished in the feeling and smiled when he heard a familiar, yet stranger's voice echo in his ear.

"Naruto?"

It whispered lovingly, the word echoing around the empty space, the screens for once going black. He opened his eyes again to see two figures.

He bowed, low, and whispered to them, "Shinigami-sama. Kami-sama."

"Naruto."

They whispered back, almost as if they too were afraid to break the silence that hung like heavy rain around them.

"Naruto."

They whispered again.

He looked up at them.

"Go back?"

They question.

He smiled kindly, sadly, cruelly, and mercifully all at once.

"Yes."

He whispered.

Then he knew nothing.


	5. Hyuuga Hisui

Crossover with _Harry Potter_

...

The day Harry was born was a day Dumbledore should have paid more attention to. He had been happy for the young couple that held their newly born child, but his mind had been on other matters. More specifically, he had been thinking about the prophecy. But he should have paid more attention to the baby, especially the boy's eyes, and he should have listened to Lilly's comments about the boy's eyes and remembered it better. Why?

Because Harry James Potter had been born with white eyes.

Not only where the irises white with just a faint tint of green, but they had no pupils. Lilly, for reasons no one else knew, had been delighted and said, "Ah! He inherited my grandmother's eyes!" and then it was left at that. The doctors and nurses, despite numerous spells, couldn't find anything wrong with the child, and Lilly didn't seem disturbed in the least, so the wizards present had all just accepted it and went along with it.

Since then, the odd eye color had all but been forgotten.

Dumbledore, however, should have taken care to remember the odd eyes and the grandmother that Lilly had mentioned, but didn't. He would come to regret this greatly.

Because when Harry Potter's parents had been killed and Harry left on the doorsteps of the Dursley's, Petunia had taken one look at the baby boy's eyes and sent him straight off to the family that was famous for them. She, after all, didn't want the boy and freaks were much better suited for dealing with freaks (even if they were of a different sort). So she had written a letter to one of her cousins living in Konoha and had asked them to pick the boy up. Two weeks later, Hyuuga Kozomi had come, picked up Harry, and left to never be seen by Petunia ever again.

10 years after the fact, Dumbledore had sent the letter to Harry Potter, only for it to reach Hyuuga Hisui, 11 year old prodigy of the Hyuuga Clan, instead.

To say the least, Dumbledore was not amused.


	6. Red Strings

It was once said that when a butterfly beats its wings, a hurricane forms halfway across the world. Just as when a drop of water joins a lake, the ripples that form grow larger and larger in both size and number. Tiny changes in time, one action as simple as turning right instead of left can change the outcome of a war, or alter the reality of billions of individuals in the years to come. And to be able to know which of these strings causes what, and to be able to go back and change the outcome for the better, or be able to watch the strings of time as they branch out into all directions and warn others of the knots and tangles is an ability more rare and precious than even the famed Rinnegan of the famed Sage of Six Paths. After all, the future is an odd place, as it is constantly in flux and never truly staying one way, either good or bad, for long.

Mother Time has favored few in the many years that the beings we call humans have existed. Most that she has favored don't last long, often going mad or being killed for their abilities. Now, on the evening of the 10th of October, a new boy is born with the ability to see everything that hasn't happened yet and all that has happened in the past. And Mother Time is saddened as she watches another of her favored be saddles with misfortune not even hours after he took his first breath. But as she wraps the babe in her gentle embrace, she whispers in his ear comforting words to sooth his worries and calm his spirit. She shall stay with the child, the precious child that was wrapped deeper in the knots and tangles than any of her favored before him.

She smiled though, weaving her web even as the child is put into an orphanage to be raised. He is special, she can tell, and he would be strong enough for her gift.

…

3 years after the Kyuubi attack

….

Yamamoto Natsuki was a normal person. She was born into a middle class civilian family. She had gotten good grades, had many friends, and held a gentle demeanor and kind heart. After finishing school, she had gotten a job at the local orphanage, intending to help as many young children reach their potential as she could.

And then the Kyuubi attacked.

She had lost her father and her elder sister in the attack, both of whom had been very precious to her. She had seen the influx of orphans into the orphanage and, unlike her mother, she didn't blame little Uzumaki Naruto, the kyuubi container, for the attack.

She saw other people at the orphanage hurt him, not give him enough food, or give him the worst quality clothing or blankets. She hadn't joined them, but she hadn't really helped the baby either. Perhaps, somewhere deep down, she resented the boy for the deaths of her family despite the logical side of her brain telling her it wasn't the boy's fault.

She watched the boy grow quickly, maturing at an impossible rate. And it was as she watched him that he began to unnerve her.

Little Naruto was a quiet child who kept to the corners and shadows. Natsuki had often heard the other caretakers say that that was "the only good thing about that no-good fox." But that wasn't what unnerved her.

He was too knowing, almost impossibly wise despite the simple, childish speak he used. And his eyes always seemed as if he was watching something no one else could see, or that he could hear something no one else could.

There had been several incidents where he had known and understood things that no 2 or 3 year old should have been able to find out about. Times where he would speak about something only for it to happen a short while later.

The other caretakers started calling him a demon child, one who would bring bad luck to all of them. Natsuki hadn't listened to them at first, but after the 7th incident, she couldn't help but wonder if they were right.

Then **_that_** day came, the incident that had all the other helpers terrified and Naruto out on the streets.

…

Natsuli ate breakfast, a frown marring her face. She had woken up that morning feeling something churn in her gut as she went about her morning routine.

"Sawada-san?" a small voice that Natsuki knew all too well popped up a little ways to her right.

Natsuki looked over to the little boy, curious as to what the boy intended to do. Sawada Mia was one of the most vocal Naruto haters, and Naruto stayed away from the woman when he could. For Naruto to willingly speak to the woman it must be important.

"What is it, brat?" the woman spat, hate clear in her eyes.

"I just wanted to say to be careful around stairs today." Naruto said, wide cerulean eyes the very epitome of innocence, "And to be wary of birds."

Mia raised an eyebrow at the boy, scoffing disbelievingly, "Sure," She drawled as she rolled her eyes, "I'll be careful."

Naruto smiled brightly and nodded, before wandering off again.

The conversation was soon all but forgotten as the day moved forward, that is, until a scream was heard in the afternoon.

Natsuki, who was in the office reading at the time, raced over to where she heard the scream, only to find Sawada Mia dead on the floor at the bottom of the stairs.

Natsuki stared in disbelief as a small Robin flew over and landed on the woman's head and let out a trilling song.

She only vaguely registered it as another of the adults ran out and called the Konoha Police. It was later that day that it was revealed that Mia's Death was an accident. Apparently a bird, the Robin they had seen, had flown in through an open window and distracted Mia just as she was about to go down the stairs. She had then tripped, fallen, and snapped her neck on the way down.

This would have been an accepted as the explanation had Natsuki and the other caretakers not heard Naruto that morning and heard him not long after Mia's death say, "I told her to be careful. I do wish she had listened."

This terrified the caretakers and as soon as they could they left Naruto in the streets and told him to never come back again.

…

Naruto had known that if he had warned Sawada Mia to be careful that he would have been thrown out of the orphanage, but he had warned him anyways, and that saddened the 3 year old, but he didn't regret warning her.

Well, he mussed, at least he got to see the town in person now. He had already seen the place in the visions he sometimes got, but he had always wanted to be able to see the place for himself.


	7. Twice Born, Jashin Returns

_Two men were walked up toward the crowd and forced onto their knees. Around them the broken remains of their temple burned as the enemy laughed at them._

_"Look at them!" The leader of the enemy taunted, "The great priests of Jashin, on their knees and about to die. Where is your god now, hm?"_

_The two men ignored the taunts and looked at each other, "it's been fun, eh Hidan?" Said one of the men. He had long silvery white hair and odd golden yellow eyes. His once beautiful black robed were torn and burnt at the edges and his once unblemished skin was covered in cuts and scrapes and bruises could be seen blooming underneath the cloth hanging from his shoulders._

_"Ah, Fuzen. Let's do it again sometime. Watch the world burn as we fuck 'em over and show them the wrath of Jashin." The second man grinned a feral smile. He, like the first, had silvery hair, but his was worn short and slicked back to stay out of his violet eyes. He was in much the same state that the first was in, if not just a bit worse._

_"Ready the swords!" The enemy shouted, and the guards raised their weapons._

_"Any last words, Jashinist scum?" _

_"Just two." Said Fuzen, "Fuck you."_

_The enemy gritted his teeth, "Die!" He ordered_

_The swords swung down, but didn't meet their target. There was a clang as Hidan whipped out of the guards hold and used the man's own sword to kill him. He leapt at the others there for their execution and tore them to shreds with the stolen weapon. _

_When he was finished he grinned and called out to his friend, "Well that's the end of that! Eh, Fuzen?"_

_..._

_There was no response._

_"Fuzen?"_

Hidan woke up with a start and looked around wildly before calming himself. Kakuzu raised an eyebrow in his direction at the out of character display.

Hidan growled under his breath, "Fuck."

"Something wrong?"

Now it was Hidan's turn to raise an eyebrow at the mercenary, "Why the fuck do you care?"

The mercenary stayed quiet and just watched the Jashinist. The two sat in silence for a moment before Hidan spoke up again, "It was nothing. Just a dream of something that happened a long time ago."

Hidan ran a hand through his hair and lied back down on the ground, staring up at the stars above him, "It doesn't matter any longer…."

….

Naruto was a relatively quiet boy. He tended to stay away from people, didn't make much noise, and tried to stay unnoticed. It wasn't what some, those who knew the boy's mother, would have expected of him, but that suited the boy just fine. Naruto preferred to not be noticed. Why?

Because Naruto had a secret.

Naruto remembered a life that wasn't his. Well… That wasn't quite right. It was his, just not this body's life. It was his last life. He remembered that life well, the Life of a man named Fuzen.

Fuzen had been born the eldest of two sons of a Jashinist priest. He grew up in the temple, learning Jashinist ways and participating in Jashinist rituals. He enjoyed the people who lived there, no matter how messed up they might have been at times, and life was good. He even had a best friend, a boy named Hidan who took to the Jashinist teachings like no one else. Then that day came. The day the Ninja came.

Jashin, as a religion, wasn't respected. It was a bloody religion, centering around pain, death, and a god of carnage. And as such, Jashinists were hated. So when the Ninja heard there was a Jashinist Temple, with a small group of Jashinist followers living there, they set off and destroyed the place.

They burned the books, destroyed the buildings, and killed the people. By the time it was over, only Hidan and Fuzen were still alive.

Naruto remembered his death in that life. It was an odd feeling, pain and then a sense of nothingness. Like floating in midair over a gaping ravine. But then he felt cold, and he cried out, and suddenly he was alive again. Conscious again. And 400 years had passed him by. He had been dead for 400 years.

But Fuzen, now Naruto, was a smart man. He hadn't been a high Jashinist Priest, and one of the strongest of his sect for nothing, you know. He bid his time, allowing his body to grow and mature, and trained all the while. He practiced his beliefs in secret, making sure the ANBU never caught him, and played the shy orphaned boy role as to not attract attention. He would wait until he was strong enough, then he would leave and try and find his comrades again.

This second life, he reasoned, was a gift from Jashin to allow him to regain followers for the religion. He was going to rebuild their temples, rewrite all the scripts by hand if he had too. Because more than Naruto, he was Fuzen.

And Fuzen was a Jashinist.

And a Jashinist never gives up.


	8. Elemental Dance

**Elemental Dance: A History**

Before the Sage of Six Paths came and brought chakra to the world, people were still able to do supernatural feats. The art of elemental dance was little known, but fascinating and beyond beautiful when witnessed. The people who were a part of the elemental dancing clans bound themselves to a spirit, and worked with that spirit to become stronger, faster, and to gain the ability to use whatever element the spirit found affinity too. The various clans all specialized in very specific elements. One would specialize in water, another lightning, another earth, and one wind. The strongest of the five elemental dancer clans, however, was the fire dancers.

The practice all but completely disappeared after the introduction of chakra to the world, chakra being much easier to learn how to control and much less dangerous than binding oneself to a spirit which could, potentially, reject their host and corrupt the host's mind. Slowly but surely, elemental dance all but completely disappeared. The only clan to survive was the Fire dancers.

The fire dancers were traditional folk. They kept to their traditions, rituals, and customs almost religiously, and the bind between spirit and dancer was something considered sacred. However, even then the clan slowly dwindled. By the clan wars, only a small strand of fire dancers remained. The clan stayed alive through its close ties with the Uchiha clan. These ties, which were forged by Otsutsuki Indra and the Fire Dancer Kikio, the head of the rather large clan at the time, set for allowance for the Uchiha to come and participate in Dancer rituals, and that the Dancers would come to the Uchiha's aid should it ever be required. In exchange, the Uchiha traded with the Dancers and provided aid whenever the Dancers called upon them.

This agreement between the two clans was kept secret from everyone outside the two clans, as dancers had long ago began to be treated as either mad or inhuman due to their relations with spirits. Not even the Senju, whom were the Uchiha's main rivals, knew of the relation between the two.

When the Senju and the Uchiha came to an agreement and founded Konoha, a man by the name Senju Hashirama would find out about the Dancers through his friend Madara and would be invited to attend a ritual dance. His attending this ritual, and later telling his wife Mito about it, was what later lead to the creation of Jinchuriki as Mito would take the idea and expand upon it, using the concepts described to her by her husband in her fuinjutsu to create a seal powerful enough to seal away the Kyuubi no Yoko.

Despite Hashirama attending the ritual, no one else in the Senju clan found out about the Uchiha's relations to the Dancers, and neither did any of the other clans that came to Konoha.

With Madara's defection to Konoha came the sealing of the Kyuubi, but as Mitos new statues as a Jinchuriki never came to light, the Dancer clans never got the opportunity to teach her their ways. When the Kyuubi was passed down to Kushina, again her statues as Jinchuriki was never released, and the Dancer clan never found out about her.

However, when Uzumaki Naruto was born and had the kyuubi sealed within him, his statues was announced and the Uchiha heard of it. The Uchiha then passed the knowledge on to the Fire Dancer clan.

It was this action that lead to the Fire Dancer Clan's interest in little Uzumaki Naruto. An interest which would change the elemental nations forever.

.

.

.

**13 Years After the Kyuubi Attack**

**Konohagakure no Sato**

Team 7, consisting of Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, Sai, and Hatake Kakashi, were in the training ground after an evening training session. The genin were exhausted, and looked ready to go home. Kakashi was just about to announce that the genin could go home, when a bright red bird carrying a small scroll flew down and landed next to Sasuke. The bird chirped once, then twice, then burst into flames, leaving nothing but the scroll behind.

Everyone in the clearing was surprised, although only Sakura really showed it on her face, when the bird did so. However, Sasuke was surprised for a different reason from the rest.

He recognized what the bird was, there wasn't an Uchiha that wouldn't, but he had honestly not expected to ever see one again. The reason? It was an invitation from the Fire Dancer Clan. Sasuke was well aware of the Uchiha's relation to the Fire Dancers, he had even gotten to see a ritual a few times when he was younger back when his family was still alive, but since the entire clan had been killed, he honestly didn't think the Dancers would continue to send messages. But apparently they had, and they had sent Sasuke an invitation to something. Question was, what was the invitation for?

Sasuke went to pick the scroll up, and he opened it up to read the contents. The rest of the people in the clearing were watching somewhat warily as the black haired Uchiha read the scroll.

_Dear Uchiha Heir,_

_We cordially invite you and up to 4 extra persons to attend the initiation Dance in four days time._

_Sincerely,_

_Aoba_

_Clan head of the Fire Dancers_

"Sasuke-kun? What does it say?" Sakura asked.

"Indeed, Sasuke," Said Kakashi as he gave one of his signature eye-smiles, "I find myself quite curious too."

Sasuke looked up from the scroll at his teammates and debated internally what to say. On one hand, the Fire Dancers were an Uchiha secret, on the other the scroll did say he could bring up to four people with him.

"Its an invitation," He finally decided on, "To a event held by an old ally of the Uchiha Clan."

"An old ally?" questioned Sai.

"Hn."

Kakashi held out his hand, "May I see it?"

Sasuke tossed the scroll over to Kakashi and waited as the man read it over. When the johnin was finished he eye-smiled at the group, "Sasuke, are you going?"

"Hn," Sasuke grunted, "I am."

"Will you be taking anyone?" Kakashi pressed.

"..." Sasuke looked at each of the members in turn before saying, "You can come if you want. Just know you will have to be careful. They follow strange ways."

Sakura looked confused, but happy that she was apparently getting to go somewhere to attend an event held by an Uchiha ally. Sai's face was blank. Kakashi simply eye-smiled at the group, "Then looks like we'll be seeing some dancing."


	9. Caged Bird

Neji couldn't move. All he could do was stare at the girl in front of him.

She was beautiful. Tanned skin, whisker marks on her cheeks, long sun-kissed hair, and sky blue eyes. Her kimono was red with a pattern of orange and yellow leaves all across the bottom and the sleeves. She looked delicate, for late of a better word, and otherworldly all the same.

But that wasn't why he couldn't take his eyes off the woman.

Her looks had nothing to do with it.

It was her words that had sent him into shock.

"You... You're a caged bird."

.

.

.

.

When was it that it started?

The day had been a normal one for Team Gai. They got up in the morning, headed out for some of Gai's insane training, then went to the Hokage's office for a mission. The Sandaime had given them a C rank mission, which, while rare, wasn't all too odd. It was a rather simple escort mission to a small village near the border of the Land of Hot Water.

The client was a farmer and his son, a small boy about the age of 6, who both wanted to get home quickly and, due to rumors of strange happenings in the area they were going to be passing through, they wanted some ninja to accompany them just in case they got attacked.

Gai and Lee had, as per usual, said yes and yelled something about the flames of youth before heading off to the gates to get going on the mission.

It was a few days into the mission that it happened.

They were walking along, Gai and Lee in the lead, both walking on their hands for some ridiculous challenge that Gai had thought up, when Gai stopped and jumped up and landed on his hands. He stopped walking completely and had a completely serious look on his face, one that his genin team hadn't seen before.

"Neji." Gai said.

"Hai?"

"Use your Byakugan to look in that direction."

Neji narrowed his eyes in confusion, wondering what could have stopped his teacher, but complied. With a bit of chakra sent to his eyes he activated his doujutsu, and promptly froze at what he saw.

"How is that possible...?"

"What?" Tenten asked, looking curious at what could have shocked her usually stoic teammate so.

"A girl..."

"A girl?" Lee said, just as confused as Tenten.

"Yes. A girl... But she is surrounded by wind. It's... I can't describe it. It's simply unbelievable..."

It was then that Gai, still strangely silent and serious, started walking forward towards the woman in the distance.

Startled, everyone (even the clients) followed him as he made his way through the trees and the bushes. It wasn't for several minutes that anyone spoke next, and the tenshin in the air built up with the only sound being the singing that gradually grew louder and more clear as they got closer. The group finally made it to a clearing and it was there that they were met with a sight no one had expected.

A girl with bright blonde hair wearing a red kimono was singing. She had her hands held out in front of her and the wind danced around her, carrying leaves fallen from the trees with it as it swirled around her. A pair of birds sat on her shoulders, tiny robins both looking content with nestling next to her neck, and a brown rabbit sat at her feet, staring up at her with something akin to wonder in its tiny eyes. The plants around her seemed to sway with the wind. Flowers were in the process of blooming before their eyes at her feet and the entire forest seemed to sing in tandem toner song.

Then, almost as if she noticed the off group of four shinobi, a farmer, and his son, she stopped singing and turned to face them.

The two birds flew off and the rabbit dashed off into the woods. The forest stopped moving as the wind died down. The girl looked at each of the people who had happened upon her in turn, and then her eyes landed on Neji.

It was then that she said the words that caused him to freeze up so, for they had more meaning than she could possibly know.

"You... You're a caged bird."

She was met with silence for a good three or four minutes as the rest of the group looked between Neji and the girl. Then Lee chose to speak up and break the silence.

"YOSH! THAT WAS A MOST YOUTHFUL DISPLAY! I MUST ASK HOW YOU DID THAT!"

The girl blinked, startled by the sudden loudness, then smiled kindly at him, "you think so? It wasn't anything all to special."

"No." Gai interrupted still looking serious, "that was most certainly are a -"

"Yes." The girl interrupted before Gai could state what she was, "I am. But I prefer not to speak of it."


	10. Traveling the Road Between Two Stones

In the autumn, the leaves around Konoha would always turn red and orange and yellow and brown. That was always Naruto's favorite time of year, because it seemed almost as if the entire world was on fire. When she was little, she remembered running through the leaves and dancing around as the leaves fell to the ground like soft snow. She remembered once falling down in a large pile of them and curling up inside them and just staring up at the cool autumn sky from where she lay.

That wasn't the only reason autumn was her favorite time of year either. She loved the festivals that took place too. No, she didn't mean the ones that the villagers celebrated where they light bonfires and told stories and sold little sugary treats. She loved the festivals that the forests celebrated, ones that only she had ever been privy to.

She didn't know why, but for as long as she could remember she had been able to see and do things no one else could. She could see strange creatures that floated in the air, wore elaborate kimonos, and odd animal masks. She knew they weren't human, but they were kind to her, unlike the rest of Konoha, so she loved them.

They threw the most wonderful festivals, secret ones in the middle of the woods. They would all gather together, the strange creatures they were, and feast on huge feasts filled with food. They would drink Sake and laugh with one another, exchanging stories and gossip. They would play games, all sorts of wonderful games, and when the party was said and done, they would parade all together, holding lanterns that light up the night sky as they sang and marched amongst the clouds.

Naruto loved joining them on these festivals, and they seemed insistent that she join them when they held them at that time of year, and that was the reason why autumn was her favorite season.

It was the season when she felt closest to her friends, her only friends, for that was the only time of the year where they all gathered in one place. The rest of the year was spent apart, for these creatures that she had befriended were mostly solitary by nature.

The rest of the year, and even autumn during the daytime for the festivals were only held at night, she was forced to spend her time at the academy and within the city walls trying to avoid the stares.

The stares that followed her everywhere.

To everyone else, Naruto was an odd girl. She was quiet for the most part, only really speaking when spoken to, but she had the oddest of habits. People would catch her smiling at seemingly nothing, or giggling at odd moments. They would hear her whisper to no one and sometimes they would see her acting as if someone was there, even though there clearly wasn't. Some put it up to the fact that the girl was a jinchuriki. For if she wasn't talking to the fox, then who was she? Others said she was possessed. Demons, they whispered, they must follow her around and do her bidding. Some chocked it up to her being a lonely child and creating an imaginary friend.

No matter the reason they came up with, be it good or bad, they still stared. Eyes followed her twenty four seven and she was terrified of the eyes on her, even if she wouldn't admit it.

But because of this she suffered. She never ended up becoming confidant, she couldn't not with all the people watching her, and it showed up in class.

She had failed the academy graduation test two times.

It wasn't because she wasn't strong enough, the forest and its odd inhabitants made sure she knew how to fight, and it wasn't because she wasn't smart enough, for despite her reputation of being stupid she was in no way dumb, it was simply because whenever she tried to take the test, something would happen. She would slip when performing a jutsu, or take the wrong test, or she would freeze up during the testing spar, or some combination of the three, and that always put her in the spot of dead last and resulted in her never passing the test.

Her classmates didn't help much either, for their jeering and teasing made her break on the inside every time she failed.

So yes, autumn was her favorite time of year.

It was the only time that she could escape.

The next year passed much the same as the last, people teasing her over her pretty red hair and her supposedly lackluster skills, and the test went the same too.

The bunshin failed.

She didn't know why, but it did. It ended up sick on the floor, color all washed out as it stared up at the people in the room and Naruto felt like crying when Iruka said to her two words.

"You fail."

Naruto went outside, looking dejected as she played with her hair, twirling what of the red strands that wasn't in a braid between her fingers. She sat down on the swing outside the academy as she usually did on these days, and welcomed the spirits that climbed down from the branches to comfort her.

They were tiny things, the creatures that came this time. They were like tiny white men with odd faces and wide black eyes. They didn't say much, usually only making an odd clicking noise when they needed to get something across, but they came down and they stayed with her and that's all Naruto really needed at that point.

A companion.

Soon Mizuki came over and the spirits clicked with displeasure, they had never liked him much for some reason, and he told her something that gave her hope once again.

"There is another way of passing the test."

.

.

.

.

Naruto placed down the scroll in her favorite clearing in the forest. Spirits gathered around her, looking at the scroll and whispering to one another in low voices. Naruto started reading the first one, one called Kage Bunshin, when a spirit in an elaborate fox mask stopped her.

"Naruto. Turn towards the end."

"The end?"

"Yes the end."

Naruto tilted her head, causing one of the loose strands of her red hair to fall in her face, then turned back to the scroll and did as she was told. She kept unwinding the scroll, scanning the various jutsus that were listed, and only when the fox mask stopped her yet again did she stop to look at the jutsu that was listed on the page.

Road Between Two Stones Jutsu

Rank: S

Created by: -

An experimental jutsu first created by the - clan and later on finished by - that makes a person travel the road between two stones. The road between two stones is a reference to a tale describing a man who makes a deal with a spirit to travel back in time to save his wife and child from tragic deaths. The jutsu opens the path and sends a person through it, but it is unknown if they actually manage to make it to the path. Project abandoned after test subjects didn't return and no sign was received that the subjects were able to make it to the path.

"The Road Between Two Stones?" Naruto said, her eyes wide and curious as she looked up at the spirit in front of her.

"Yes, child." Another spirit wearing a wolf mask spoke up, "the Road Between Two Stones is a real story. Based on something that actually happened, although humans have twisted the facts a bit."

The fox mask then took over once more, "We want you to use this Jutsu to go somewhere better than here. We will help you. Just know that when you arrive you won't be able to remember much about your time here."

"What?! What do you mean I won't remember?" Naruto said, panicked. She didn't want to loose her friends.

"Hush child." Said a spirit that wasn't wearing a mask. Her rested a hand upon her shoulder, "You mustn't worry about losing us. We are able to travel on the paths whenever we wish, and those of us here will follow you to your new home."

"But what about Konoha? The graduation test?" Naruto protested once more.

"You will be happier in the new place than you could ever hope to be here." Responded the maskless spirit.

Naruto stayed silent for a bit, her hands grabbing onto the edge of her burnt orange shirt. She fiddled with it for a moment before looking up and nodding,"alright. I'll do it."

The creatures in the clearing cheered. The white tree spirits clicked, and the masked ones all encouraged her to begin quickly.

Naruto took a deep breath, before looking at the instructions below the description. She followed its rules, slowly making the hand signs as she gathered her chakra to make sure she didn't make a mistake. When she reached the last sign, she breathed out the words that would change her life forever.

"Road Between Two Stones Jutsu."

Her world went white and she disappeared, leaving nothing but an open scroll in an empty clearing for Mizuki to find.

.

.

.

Who is it who steps

.

Lightly across the field

.

With cloth of flame

.

And ice for a soul?

.

Who is it who smiles

.

At the hardened men

.

With hair of blood

.

And sky for her eyes?

.

Who is it who fell

.

For a Fire Dancer?

.

Who is it who loved

.

A beautiful Fire Dancer?

.

A Fire Dancer dances

.

Only for him and his

.

.

.

It was cool.

The air was chilly and left the skin on his face stinging slightly. The leaves on the ground were a mixture of all sorts of red and yellows and oranges. The woods were silent. At this time of day, so early in the morning, that wasn't all too much a surprise. Most of the animals had yet to wake up, and the only real noise was the sound of his breath and a few birds that had woken up a while ago. Sunlight peaked through the branches, the very first rays signifying morning were always so much brighter than the rest of the day, and it illuminated the forest as the last stars flickered out.

Madara breathed outwards and watched his breath condensate in the air, creating a little cloud before him, and thought to himself that winter would be closing in soon. That meant trouble for the missions, as they would have to rely on the rations they brought from the compound rather than hunting a good rabbit or two on the go.

His gaze shifted from the trees and their near bare branches to the last bits of the camp fire. It was unusual for him to make a fire, it would only give away his position to the enemy after all, but for once the Uchiha weren't fighting anyone in particular and the days were getting colder so he allowed himself to indulge.

The wood glowed slightly near the bottom of the fire, the place where the last vestiges of the fire still clung, and he watched absentmindedly as an ember sprung up into the air, only to fade into a tiny fleck of grey ash.

He would have to put it out soon, he mused, he should get moving again. Best to start traveling early and make the best of the day while it lasts. The days were bound to get shorter soon, and traveling in the dark, while not impossible or even difficult, was inconvenient.

He got up and quickly packed up his camp, storing the few things out in sealing scrolls and destroying the fire with a quick camping jutsu all ninja learned.

Then, when he was sure there was no sign of him having been in the clearing, he set off into the branches once more.

He wasn't entirely sure where he was going, only that he needed to go. It was a training trip, thats what he'd told his family, but there was something more that was going to happen. He was sure of it. He couldn't explain it, the feeling was far too vague for that, but he was certain that he just had to leave.

Change was coming.

That was perhaps the best way to describe what the feeling told him. Something big was coming, and he wasn't sure if he, or his clan, was ready for it.

Perhaps it is the Senju, he mused to himself as he silently leapt from tree to tree, perhaps the fool Hashirama is planning something.

The thought of the Senju whom he had once thought of as a friend brought a scowl to his features. But the thought quickly left him as a bright flash of light showed up further ahead, in the direction that he was headed. He paused momentarily, then rushed to see what it was, suppressing his Chakra signature as to remain stealthy just in case it was an enemy. What he found, he didn't expect.

There was a girl lying in the snow. A girl, maybe 14 or 15 of age, with tanned skin and whisker marks on her cheeks. She was dressed in a kimono, a orange one that was decorated with a pattern of leaves. Her hair was a dark red and lay splayed out behind her, not unlike a pool of blood.

Madara checked for trapps in the clearing, before approaching the girl. He reached out to touch her neck to check for a pulse, when she groaned and shifted. Madara tensed, preparing to jump away in case it was a trap, then froze when the girl opened her eyes.

They were blue. A blue unlike any he had ever seen before. It was like the sky, endless and clear of any clouds. They were beautiful.


	11. Storm Comming

Crossover with _Katekyo Hitman Reborn_

...

_How was it_, Fon wondered, _that I got into this situation?_

He honestly had no idea, for there was no logical solution to that question. Why? Because he was a baby again. Only this time, it wasn't because of a curse.

Fon remembered dying. He was on a job, just one of the many he took from the triads, when things had gone to hell. The job was a relatively easy one. A drug lord had overstepped his bounds and he was supposed to go send a message. He had gotten in, the security was surprisingly lax, and he supposed that should have been the first sign that something was wrong, and he had headed to where the man was supposed to be. He got there, and that was when things had gone wrong.

They had been expecting him.

Gun pointed at him, he was dodging bullets for several minutes while he went for the man, and it was when he finally got close that the first explosion had gone off. Immediately, he had tried to leave, but one delay after another had popped up, suicidal people practically throwing themselves at him to prevent him from leaving the collapsing building, and he hadn't made it out in time.

Crushed under tons of rocks and metal, he had died from blood loss because a pipe had managed to piece his side during the collapse.

But apparently, that wasn't the end for him. He had woken up again, in a baby's body once more, and in an entirely new world.

It had been 5 years since then.

He had slowly gotten used to the new world he had found himself in. He found the culture to be reminiscent of an odd mix of ancient and modern japan. The language was even similar, albeit with its differences, and he had seen many of the traditions were the same as well.

It was curious, he mused, that the two societies would develop in such a manner that they were much the same.

The most curious thing about the world though, by far, was the existence called Chakra.

Chakra was extremely versatile by what he had seen. It could be used to strengthen limbs, walk on walls or water, breath fire, control the elements, and so many more things. Chakra allowed for ninja, and a type of ninja that were almost nothing like the ones he had read about in his past life.

They performed superhuman feats that were almost impossible in his old world like it was an everyday occurrence over here. It was odd, and exciting, and he couldn't wait to try it out for himself.

He was particularly interested in taijutsu, as he had already found many styles that, while vaguely resembling some of the things he had learned in his last life, were completely new to him. It was exciting for him, and got his blood running at the thought of a new challenge.

Among the arcobaleno, Fon was the calmest of them. But despite his calm demeanor and his disarming smile, he was a member of the underground and violence was in his blood.

So Fon, or Naruto as he was called in this life, went about his days trying to find out more about chakra and its possibilities.

Today Fon was headed to the library, as he usually did despite how strange it was for a six year old to want to read, and was passing by the academy training grounds when he heard something.

It was late in the evening, most, if not all, of the children at the academy should have headed home by that point. It was odd for someone to be still at the training grounds.

So, curious, and maybe a tad bored, Fon turned to look where the grounds were and to see what the noise was.

The academy training ground were relatively simple. Dirt ground with a bit of grass, some dummies with targets for shuriken and kunai practice, and a few posts for taijutsu practice. There, on the grounds, was a boy who was kicking the post like it was responsible for everything wrong with the world.

Fon stepped forward and spoke out to the boy, "hello?"

The boy quickly turned and tensed, as if readying for a fight, but relaxed when he saw Fon's disarming figure.

And he was disarming. Between being short and thin and wearing a slightly worn orphanage uniform he didn't look dangerous. He had wide blue eyes and whisker marks on his cheeks. He had grown his currently blond hair out and tied it back into a braid, and with the baby fat still on his face, he looked more cute than anything else.

"Are you practicing taijutsu?" Fon questioned as he stuffed his hands in his sleeve, a habit from his old life that he had never really shaken.

"Yes I am." The boy ventured, "why?"

Fon smiled at him, a kind close eyes smile, and said, "I was wondering why you were here so late. Usually people have gone home by this point."

The boy looked down at the ground and clenched his teeth, "I need the practice."

"Hm?"

"I can't do anything right in classes..." the boy started, "I can't use chakra outside my body, so that only leaves Taijutsu left. But I'm useless at that too. I'm no genius, but I thought that if I worked hard enough that I could prove even a dead-last can fight an elite! But its not working..." he growled and kicked the post again.

Fon meanwhile, took the boy's appearance in again.

His hands were covered in little cuts, as were the skin that showed below his pants leg. He was covered in dirt, it stuck to his hair and covered his face in a light layer. His clothing, something similar to a karate uniform, was in tatters from being exposed so long.

"Do you want help?" Fon asked, curious as to how the boy would respond.

The boy stopped abusing the post again, to look at Fon with wide eyes.

"You... You don't think it's stupid?"

"Why would I? Its an admirable goal. People don't value hard work very much. What do you say we show them wrong?"

"But... I've worked so hard for so long already and it hasn-"

Fon cut the boy off, "Hard work without any direction is worse than no hard work at all. Trust me, we can do this."

The boy stared at Fon for a long while, various emotions flashing through his eyes as he thought it over. Then he grinned, "Alright! Lets do this!"

The boy pumped a hand up in the air, then stuck a hand out to Fon.

"My name is Rock Lee. And you?"

"Uzumaki Naruto." Fon replied, grasping the hand in his own, "A pleasure to meet you."

Just then a loud voice interrupted the two, "YOSH! THE TWO OF YOU ARE IN THE SPRING TIME OF YOUTH TO MAKE SUCH A DEAL! MAY YOUR NEW FRIENDSHIP BURN BRIGHTLY, YOUNG ONES! I WILL HELP YOU ON YOUR MOST YOUTHFUL QUEST!"

A man appeared, dressed in green spandex and a jonin vest with his hia-te wrapped around his waist, and his hair was styled in a bowl cut.

He gave them a thumbs up and grinned, a light sparkling from his smile.

Fon froze, not entirely sure what to make of the man, and blinked a few times to make sure it wasn't an illusion.

It wasn't.

Lee, however, seemed taken by the man, and instantly grinned back at him.

And that was the beginning of Fon's friendships with Lee and Gai.

.

.

.

Gai watched Naruto and Lee spar with one another with a serious gaze. He noted how much the two, especially Naruto, had improved since he took the two under his tutelage. The pair had improved leaps and bounds and both were genin level despite being in the academy.

He liked his two students, they were most youthful in his opinion, but there was always something off with Naruto.

The boy looked harmless, and acted like it too, but Gai knew the boy was a Jinchuriki, and was therefore dangerous. He wasn't stupid enough to think the boy was the Fox that he held, but he couldn't help but worry that perhaps the boy was being influenced by the fox.

Why?

Because he was far too mature for his age.

It was more than that, of course, but that was one of the larger ones. He understood things a six year old shouldn't have been able to comprehend, and gained skill far too fast. When he trained Naruto, it was more like the boy was going through the motions, as if he had already done this before a million times, than it was like he was learning something completely knew.

There were other things, too, that he noticed. The way Naruto would pull off a move that Gai hadn't shown him and he knew for certain wasn't in any scroll in the library, or the way the boy sometimes moved like he was used to life or death battles of a high level. Gai had even seen Naruto subtly correct Lee's stance when they sparred at times. Naruto held himself as if he was ready to dodge high speed kunai at any moment. And there was always something darker that lurked beneath that mask of disarming close eyed smiles that the boy wore.

Gai hadn't told anyone yet about his suspicions, he hadn't had any real reason too yet and he wanted to wait and see if any other things would show up.

Many people who knew Gai aren't able to believe that the man is smart. What most fail to see is that the man was very smart, just in ways that didn't show themselves very often. They were always covered up by his grand displays and his eccentric habits, so not many knew he had smarts.

Naruto was odd, that was for certain, and it peaked Gai's interest.

For now though, the boy was just his student, fox that may or may not be influencing his mind or not.


	12. Two Minds: One and Nine

For as long as Naruto could remember, she could hear voices.

Just two.

Two voices that echoed in her head.

One voice was deep and rumbling, and he didn't like talking much. he usually growled and groaned whenever she tried to speak with him, but he would speak on occasion. Naruto liked this voice, the voice called Kurama in her head. For all his roughness and slightly sadistic sense of humor and backwards morals, he didn't treat her with unkindness, more like reluctant tolerance. But Naruto knew that beneath the layers of sarcasm and dislike, the voice liked her, even if only a little.

The other voice was different.

He spoke more to her than Kurama did, and she often spoke to him back. he was a child, the same age as her, and he spoke of voices too. He couldn't hear Kurama, but he heard another voice, one that he described as high and shrill and slightly insane. He called the voice he heard Shukaku, and on occasion he called the voice Mother. It was an odd thing, Naruto mused, to consider a voice in your head your mother, but she supposed she could relate. After all, Kurama was the closest thing to a father that she had.

Naruto liked the child voice, Gaara was his name. For all his awkwardness and quiet sadness, he was much like her. They were both lonely, and they took solace in each other's presence, as superficial as that presence was. They comforted one another whenever something bad happened. Whenever children ran away from Gaara, or called him demon, he would go to Naruto and she would speak to him and soothe his worries. Whenever Naruto lay hungry on the orphanage bed, or when she cried herself to sleep after a beating, Gaara was always there to comfort her.

Naruto never told anyone about Kurama or Gaara. They were her secret, one that she never told anyone, no matter how much they might ask. They were her's and hers alone.


	13. Sand Siblings: A different Golden Trio

Crossover with _Harry Potter_

_..._

At the end of third year, Hermione found an interesting spell that was supposed to reveal something you didn't know about yourself. Harry, Ron, and Hermione got together, intending to perform the spell just for fun. The results they got were strange... "_You were once someone else_." It said to all three of them. They thought nothing of it and continued on with their lives, just assuming that they messed up the spell or something.  
It wasn't until they started getting strange dreams that they realized something was wrong.  
By the time that they started dreaming, they were already into summer. Harry was the first to dream, he dreamt of evil whispers telling him to kill in his ear, of endless dunes of sand in every direction, of people staying away from him and looking at him with fear in their eyes, of people whispering '_jinchuriki_' like it was worse than demons, and of a single blonde haired friend. _"Because we're friends, right -dattebayo?"_ He dreamt of people cheering for him, they loved him, they accepted him. There was pain too. Unbelievable pain, and then the whispers stopped. Which _wasn't possible _because they were _**always**_ _there_.  
Then came the lack of sleep. He suddenly couldn't sleep at all. And instead, the dreams came in the form of visions. Every time he closed his eyes he'd hear it. "_Gaara_." They called. But that didn't make any sense either. Because who is Gaara? Not me. I'm not Gaara.  
He started changing though, picking up habits that he didn't have before and yet felt

so natural to him. He would stare out the window for hours on end _'where are my people?'_ with his back straight and posture proud. He found it harder and harder to show emotions '_kazekage-sama? Naruto is here._' and it started to become a chore to give long responses. Moon gazing became his favorite nightly activity '_Yashamaru-oji-san? What is pain?_' and somehow, he started to feel more relaxed when he was near sand.  
It wasn't only his habits though. Physically he changed as well. He grew some, a growth spurt that put a few inches on him. His hair changed, gaining more of a reddish hue. After that happened, he would sometimes catch aunt petunia staring at him with an odd look on her face. He started getting paler, much to his relatives disbelief, despite all the time he spent outside. The insomnia took its toll and he found himself with dark rings around his eyes.  
Hermione was next to dream. They were kinder to her in a way, and yet so much more frightening in another. She dreamt of wind blowing past her face, of callouses on her hands from holding her fan, of a brother she could never reach, and of a man who was supposed to be her father and yet was distant and estranged. And then she got her brother back. The brother that was so far away, finally smiling and _"We are family?"_ She dreamt of love, and loss and friendships with unlikely people and a family that was so broken and yet still held hope.  
Then came the odd things, the thoughts that didn't belong. Whispers of another girl in her head that was her and yet at the same time not. Every time she did anything she'd hear her. "_My name is Temari._" She said. But that didn't make any sense either because my name is Hermione. Not Temari.  
And still she changed, she started admiring the fans displayed in shop windows with a different eye '_Do you want the red one or the blue one?_' and found herself wishing for the company of someone who didn't exist. She would find herself wondering how Gaara was doing '_the hand signs are like this, understand?'_ despite the fact she knew he wasn't real. She tied her hair up in an odd four ponytail style and asked her parents if she could cut it shorter '_how was your day today, Temari?_' and found herself reading less and less in favor of running and getting fit.  
Again, it wasn't only habits. Her hair had turned a lighter shade of brown-blonde that was leaning more on blonde. Her eyes, too, gained a dark greenish ting that no one could make heads or tails of. Her face changed to, just subtle things that added up until '_is that really you Hermione?'  
_Ron dreamt too. He dreamt of long hours spent in a workshop, working on carvings and dolls. He dreamt of poisons that could kill or knock out a man, and weapons hidden in all sorts of crevices, and days reading over scrolls with intricate designs on them. He dreamt of a sister who worried over a brother that was far too gone, lost to the whims of a demon. Only, suddenly he wasn't. "_I'm sorry. So so sorry_." A little ball of orange brought him back, and their brother smiled at him. Smiled kindly at him.

Then came the odd things. The whispers of another name that was his and yet wasn't. It was frustrating because it was so familiar and so shadowed all the same. But he knew this, "_Kankuro_." That is what they all called.

He started picking up habits that weren't his. He stopped caring about getting out of his siblings shadow "_Dad! Dad! I got into puppet corps today!" _He took up carving, sitting there mostly silent with a knife in one hand and a piece of wood in the other "_Well since I can't stop and slow down thanks to this Jutsu, you better learn fast! __**Puppet art: Ten Finger Puppets**__!_" He started to smile more, and in a genuine way, and his brothers found it harder and harder to prank him.

Like the others, it wasn't only habits. His skin darkened, gaining a slight tan. His eyes, too, gained a brown hue to them rather than the bright blue they usually were. His hair darkened, the twins joked that it looked almost like he was slowly dying it brown one day.

Summer passed, and they all changed. Then when time came for them to meet up for the Quidditch World Cup, they were surprised.

Hermione and Ron were the first to see each other. They had stared at each other for a good minute before saying at the same time; "Temari?" "Kankuro?"

The others hadn't known what to make of it, especially after seeing both Hermione and Ron change so much over the summer, but all but the Twins shrugged it off.

Then when Harry had arrived and seen Ron, the same thing happened.

"Gaara?" "Kankuro?"

And again when Harry saw Hermione.

"Temari?" "Gaara?"

Again, the Weasleys and the rest whom had been there shrugged it off, all but the Twins assuming it some quirk. Mrs. Weasley had, however, fussed over Harry for his lack of sleep. "_You need to sleep more, young man!_ _And you're so thin! Have you been eating at all?!"_

They had met that night, all sneaking into the room Ron and Harry shared to discuss what was happening.


End file.
